A young woman was fatally shot on Wednesday, January 21, in the late afternoon while she was in a car on Avenue Henri Matisse, in the west of Nice. An infant present in the vehicle was unharmed. The suspect turned himself in to the police a few hours after the incident.
The tragedy occurred on Wednesday, January 21, shortly after 6 p.m., on Avenue Henri Matisse, in the west of Nice. The area is located near the Lycée des Eucalyptus, in a residential neighborhood. A woman approximately 25 years old was driving when one or more shots were fired in the direction of the vehicle. The victim was shot by bullets while a baby was also on board.
When the emergency services arrived, the young woman was in cardiac arrest. The firefighters began resuscitation efforts. The attempts were in vain, and her death was confirmed on the scene. About twenty firefighters were mobilized during the intervention. A portion of the emergency team cared for the child, whose age was not specified by authorities. The infant was unharmed.
According to the initial findings, the car was found riddled with bullets. About ten cartridges had been fired. According to the police, one or two individuals on a scooter fled immediately after the shooting. Law enforcement quickly secured the area to allow for the initial investigations.
The firefighters and police confirmed the facts to AFP. The exact circumstances of the shooting remained to be determined on Wednesday evening. The local judicial police department has been tasked with the investigation. The public prosecutor has also been informed of the situation.
The suspect turned himself in less than three hours after the incident
According to information gathered during the evening, the shooter turned himself in to the authorities less than three hours after the incident. This surrender took place on Wednesday night. The exact conditions of this action have not been detailed at this stage. Investigators are continuing interviews and analysis of the physical evidence.
Images from the urban supervision center in the city of Nice have been made available to the investigators. Local authorities have indicated they are cooperating fully with the judiciary to precisely identify the sequence of events and responsibilities. The investigators must notably establish the exact number of perpetrators involved and the role of each.
Several leads are being considered. The judicial authorities are not ruling out either a family tragedy or a settling of scores. No evidence on Wednesday night favored one hypothesis over another. The investigation will also need to determine if the victim was specifically targeted or if the context was different.
The mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, publicly reacted after the incident. On the social network X, a message was published shortly after the announcement of the death. The publication mentions a reaction after the death of a young woman hit by gunfire while a baby was with her. The infant is reported to be safe and sound.
In a subsequent statement, Christian Estrosi provided details on the information transmitted by the prosecutor’s office: “we are faced with a tragedy with a modus operandi, according to the first information communicated to us by the public prosecutor, of a very violent assassination of a mother who was in her vehicle and was shot by someone on a scooter. The infant is safe and has been placed at Lenval. As I speak to you, I naturally leave it to the investigators and the public prosecutor to follow the leads.
We have already made available to them all the images we can provide so they can do their work quickly and in the best conditions. And naturally, I urgently wish, where we cannot yet determine if this is a family drama or a settling of accounts related to high-level delinquency, that the criminal, with this unprecedented act of barbarism, be apprehended and naturally prosecuted and sentenced with the greatest firmness and without the slightest leniency. I trust the prosecutor’s office, the prosecutor, the investigators, and the justice system now. We are by their side with our municipal police forces to help them in conducting their investigation with the Urban Supervision Center of the city of Nice.”
The news item was also commented on by Eric Ciotti on X: “absolute tragedy on Av. Henri Matisse in Nice: a woman was shot dead in her car. A baby, present in the heavily impacted vehicle, is miraculously unharmed. Sincere condolences to the victim’s family. Nice must not, under any circumstances, become Marseille!”
The authorities have not provided more details regarding the family’s situation or the victim’s identity. The investigation continues to determine the exact circumstances of this homicide committed in a public thoroughfare.
